Dinner usually refers to the most significant meal of the day, which can be at noon or in the evening. However, the term "dinner" can have different meanings depending on culture, as it may mean a meal of any size eaten at any time of day.[1] Historically, it referred to the first meal of the day eaten around noon,[2] and is still sometimes used for a noon-time meal, particularly if it is a large or main meal. In many parts of the Western world, dinner is taken as the evening meal.[2]

Etymology

The word is from the Old French (c. 1300) disner, meaning "dine", from the stem of Gallo-Romance desjunare ("to break one's fast"), from Latin dis- (which indicates the opposite of an action) + Late Latin ieiunare ("to fast"), from Latin ieiunus ("fasting, hungry").[3][4] The Romanian word dejun and the Frenchdéjeuner retain this etymology and to some extent the meaning (whereas the Spanish word desayuno and Portuguesedesjejum are related but are exclusively used for breakfast). Eventually, the term shifted to referring to the heavy main meal of the day, even if it had been preceded by a breakfast meal (or even both breakfast and lunch).